Promotions

Promotions refers to a specific combination of methods used to promote one product or a variety of products. Elements of a promotion mix may include print or broadcast advertising, direct marketing, personal selling, point of sale displays, and/or merchandising.

The promotion mix majorly involves Above the line, Below the line and Intergrated marketing Communication.

Above the line (ATL), below the line (BTL), in organizational business and marketing communications, are advertising techniques, or different strategies companies use to sell their products.

In a nutshell, while ATL communications use media that are broadcast and published to mass audiences, BTL communications use media that are more niche focused. While both ATL and BTL communications can be used to either build brand awareness or drive sales through specific offers (promotions), it is BTL communication that gives the marketer the ability to tailor their messaging in a more personal manner to the audience.

More recently, agencies and clients have switched to an 'Integrated Communication Approach' because of the expansion in terms of media avenues that can be exploited to reach out to the consumers. It is the closest approach to "Through the line" form of promotions which mixes up attributes of Above and Below the line promotions.

Let us attempt to understand the three concepts in greater depth before resorting to our analysis in case of  Maggi Pazzta.

Above the line promotion

Above the line is a type of advertising through media such as TV, cinema, radio, print, banners and search engines to promote brands. Major uses include television and radio advertising, web and Internet banner ads. This type of communication is conventional in nature and is considered impersonal to customers.

BTL (Below The Line) Promotion:

Below the line sales promotions are short-term incentives, largely aimed at consumers. With the increasing pressure on the marketing team to achieve communication objectives more efficiently in a limited budget, there has been a need to find out more effective and cost efficient ways to communicate with the target markets. This has led to a shift from the regular media based advertising. In other words, below-the-line sales promotion is an immediate or delayed incentive to purchase, expressed in cash or in kind, and having only a short term or temporary duration.

Below the Line uses less conventional methods than the usual specific channels of advertising to promote products, services, etc. than Above the Line strategies. These may include activities such as direct mail, public relations and sales promotions for which a fee is agreed upon and charged up front. Below the line advertising typically focuses on direct means of communication, most commonly direct mail and e-mail, often using highly targeted lists of names to maximize response rates.

Integrated Marketing Communications:

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is an approach to brand communications where the different modes work together to create a seamless experience for the customer and are presented with a similar tone and style that reinforces the brand’s core message. Its goal is to make all aspects of marketing communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations direct marketing, online communications and social media work together as a unified force.

IMC is becoming more significant in marketing practice because of the reduced cost effectiveness of mass media and media fragmentation.Increasingly the strategies of brands cannot be understood by looking solely at their advertising.Increasingly the strategies of brands cannot be understood by looking solely at their advertising.

Maggi pazzta follows more of ATL promotions but has lately adopted the IMC approach. It integrates digital advertising and promotion strategies with personal touch based social mediums like facebook. Maggi Pazzta does 360 degree promotion, which includes TV, Radio, Print and Digital.